Brixton Hill is the name given to a two-thirds of a mile (1 km) section of road between Brixton and Streatham Hill in south London, England.

Brixton Hill, photographed in 2009

Brixton Hill and Streatham Hill form part of the traditional main London to Brighton road (A23). The road follows the line of a Roman Road, the London to Brighton Way, which diverges from Stane Street near Kennington, and led south from the capital, Londinium, to a port on the south coast.

History

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Prior to the late 19th century, the road was known as Brixton (or Bristow) Causeway. On the eastern side of the road, a series of tree-lined open spaces and front gardens make up Rush Common — an area of former common land that, although it is subject to a prohibition on 'erections above the surface of the earth' under an Act of Parliament of 1806, has seen some incursions for building.[1]

The name Brixton Hill has subsequently been given to the residential areas on both sides of the road, and from 2002 to 2022, it was also the name of an electoral ward of the London Borough of Lambeth.

From 1891 until the 1950s Brixton Hill was served by a regular London tram service; it was cable-drawn until 1904 when it was replaced by a conventional electric tram.[2] The tram depot at Streatham Hill, opposite Telford Avenue, housed the tram cars, horses and the steam-powered winding gear for the cable. It is now a bus depot. Another surviving tram shed, which can still be seen near the junction of Brixton Hill with Christchurch Road, was designed by London County Council Tramways' architect G. Topham Forest, and had a capacity of 30 trams.[3]

Notable residents

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  • Edward Petherick, Australian bookseller and bibliophile lived at Yarra Yarra 30 Brixton Hill. He maintained a library, which was particularly extensive as regards Australia. George William Rusden was a frequent visitor when writing his books History of Australia and History of New Zealand.[4]
  • Tom Holland
  • 67 (rap group)
  • Sarah Everard, a marketing executive was living here. She was murdered in 2021.

Lambeth Council elections

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Brixton Hill 2018 (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Co-op Maria Kay 2,142
Labour Co-op Adrian Garden* 2,015
Labour Co-op Martin Tiedemann* 1,796
Green Gwen Buck 856
Women's Equality Janet Baker 842
Liberal Democrats Sarah Lewis 520
Green Richard Bultitude 517
Green Will Eaves 478
Conservative Tamara Bailey 389
Conservative Lavinia Cartwright 349
Conservative Savill Young 319
Liberal Democrats Peter Portelli 222
Liberal Democrats Jonathan Price 192
Labour hold Swing
Labour hold Swing
Labour hold Swing
Brixton Hill 2014 (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Adrian Garden 1,849
Labour Florence Eshalomi * 1,791
Labour Martin Tiedemann 1,560
Green Roger Baker 818
Green Andrew Child 768
Green Betty Mehari 719
Conservative James Calder 415
Conservative Charles Tannock 381
Conservative Michael Woolley 310
UKIP Paul Gregory 254
Liberal Democrats Chris Keating 244
Liberal Democrats Liz Maffei 231
Liberal Democrats Adam Pritchard 228
TUSC Lisa Bainbridge 132
TUSC Alex Richardson 83
TUSC Jessica Walters 74
Total votes 9,857
Labour hold Swing
Labour hold Swing
Labour hold Swing
Brixton Hill 2010 (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Alexander Holland 2,805
Labour Steve Reed * 2,699
Labour Florence Nosegbe * 2,648
Liberal Democrats Kate Horstead 2,100
Liberal Democrats Krystal Johnson 1,873
Liberal Democrats John Mead 1,560
Green Thomas Law 1,108
Green Elkin Atwell 1,023
Conservative Tim Briggs 873
Green Phillipa Marlowe-Hunt 850
Conservative Victoria Edwards 768
Conservative Diana Thompson 688
Total votes 18,995
Labour hold Swing
Labour hold Swing
Labour hold Swing

References

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  1. ^ "Survey of London - Brixton: Rush Common".
  2. ^ "London Brixton Hill".
  3. ^ Taylor & Green (2001). The Moving Metropolis: The History of London's Transport Since 1800. Laurence King Publishing. ISBN 1-85669-326-0.
  4. ^ Petherick, Edward (6 February 1904). "George William Rusden". The Athenaeum. No. 3980. London. p. 175-175.

51°27′13″N 0°07′14″W / 51.4535°N 0.1205°W / 51.4535; -0.1205